battle. The militia garrison was commanded by Colonel Charles G. Lovenskiold, but he handed his command over to Major Alfred M. Hobby when he arrived with reinforcements. The garrison was based at the citadel in Fort Kinney. Battle Corpus Christi Raid At noon on August 12, just northwest of Corpus Christi, Belle Italia, Sachem, Reindeer and Corypheus were sailing from Aransas Bay through a canal into Corpus Christi Bay when they sighted CSS Breaker. The Union Navy vessels then gave chase to the sloop which was filled with sailors and several Confederate States Army soldiers who were returning from a reconnaissance mission. After a long pursuit the Union ships closed in on the Confederates and opened fire. The Confederate commander chose to ground his sloop and then scuttle it by fire to prevent her capture. A boarding party from Arthur went to take the vessel and prevent the burning. By the time they arrived, the Confederates had already lowered life boats and were escaping overland. The Union sailors boarded the Breaker and put out the fire. Having taken and refloated the prize ship and thus weakened the defenses of Corpus Christi, Union commanders felt it was now time to attack the Confederates defending the town. Knowing that Breaker was gone, Confederates in the bay scuttled CSS Elma and the sloop CSS Hannah. Blockade After taking the Breaker, the Union vessels sailed southwest the short distance to Corpus Christi and established a blockade. Sachem and Corypheus were designated the first to bombard the Confederate fort. Lieutenant Kittredge transferred his flag to Corypheus from Arthur which he sent north to procure supplies such as ammunition and food. Belle Italia and Reindeer sat out of range as reserves and the captured Breaker was used as a hospital ship. The following morning on August 13, Lieutenant Kittredge and a boarding party were ordered ashore to demand a Confederate surrender of the port town on the Nueces river. He was also ordered to allow a forty-eight-hour truce for the evacuation of women and children should the rebels decide to make a stand. As expected, the rebels refused to surrender. The Union continued the blockade for the next forty-eight hours. On the 16th when the truce ended, Kittredge for unknown reasons, failed to begin his attack, so the Confederates used the time to continue strengthening their fort. Attack on Fort Kinney When the rebels evacuated the